The effectiveness of a medication regime often depends on maintaining appropriate corporeal concentrations of the medication which, in turn, is affected by regular dose administration. In a supervised setting, where a medical practitioner is responsible for administering medicine, providing doses at appropriate times can be reliably achieved. Outside of such environments, even the most sophisticated and diligent patient may find it difficult to reliably self administer medications on schedule.
In light of this issue, a variety of medication timers have previously been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,537 describes a keyboard assembly which stores and dispenses pills and an electronic assembly which records data regarding key closures whenever a pill is dispensed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,439 shows an ordinary medicine bottle with a cap modified so as to include a timer, a battery, a buzzer or display light and means for closing a circuit. When the cap is closed, the circuit is automatically closed through contact with a conducting material on the upper edge of the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,614 shows a reminder device with circular dials similar to the face of a clock for pill and medicine containers. The rotatable dials may be manually set to an indicator showing the weekday, date and time for taking a pill or other medicinal dose. The reminder device is disposable and maybe pin to the bottle top or other medicine container.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,123 describes a medication timer for tracking when medication is to be taken. The medication timer includes a bottle for housing the medication. The bottle has an open end which has a lip. The lip has threads formed thereon. A first cap for removably closing the bottle has a first portion and a second portion. The first and second portions are generally annular. The first and second portions each have an interior threaded surface. A timer for tracking medication use has a top wall, a bottom wall and a peripheral side wall extending therebetween. The peripheral side wall has threads thereon. The peripheral side wall has a plurality of bores therein. Control circuitry is fixedly mounted in an interior of the timer. The control circuitry is adapted for tracking elapsing time, and adapted for activation of an alarm. A display for displaying information from the control circuitry is mounted on the control circuitry. The display is operationally coupled to the control circuitry. A button for programming the control circuitry is in each one of the bores in the timer.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,807 describes an electronic pill reminder device. The reminder device can be retrofitted inside a conventional pill bottle cap between the bottle cap and the bottle container. When the user closes the pill bottle cap on the bottle container, the electronic timer, with factory predetermined time interval, is automatically activated. That activated timer will generate alert signals not only remind user last pill has taken but also to remind the user to take his/hers next dose at time-out. The reminder device and alert signals are automatically deactivated and reset when the user opens the pill bottle cap (to take contents from the bottle container).
Similarly, US published patent application number 2009/0052283 describes a disposable electronic timer in the form of a disk having a liquid crystal or similar display, adapted to be glued to a medication bottle cap. A lower major surface of the timer has an adhesive layer with a cover that can be peeled off to expose the adhesive so that the timer can be secured to the bottle cap. The upper major surface of the timer contains the timer display and a control button that in one mode starts the timer so that an alarm within the timer sounds after a preset time interval, and in another mode sets or resets the timer to a different preset time interval. Operating power is supplied by a battery within the timer.
Each of the above-noted documents is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.